Following the death of his brother, Jack (Mark Duplass) goes on what will be his emotional intervention and the request of his best friend Iris (Emily Blunt). He's in a bad state and we know this; the eulogy for his brother becomes a cringe-worthy moment when he turns his grief to anger in a room full of people. Iris is ever-forgiving and sends him to her family's cabin deep in the woods of Washington.
Coincidentally, Jack runs into Iris's sister Hannah (Rosemary DeWitt), and after some initial confusion over some wandering eyes at the lodge the two share a night of tequila, relationship secrets and eventually sex. It's important to know that Iris is a lesbian who has recently walked out of seven year relationship.
That night that the two of them spend together is so cleverly directed that it doesn't feel forced at all. I am a very big fan of DeWitt, and her navigation through the complex emotions released by the alcohol to the point where she is interested in having sex with a man does nothing but reinforce my admiration of her overlooked talents. I suppose it does help that Duplass is a wizard at being charismatic in that stupid teenager type of way. In "Safety Not Guaranteed," a film that premiered at the Sundance this year, he does something similar. I am not completely familiar with this actor, but from these two I gather that this is his niche.
It's awkward sex (how could it not be when you have a lesbian and man-child?) and something that hopefully everyone can forget about. It might be that easy if Iris didn't show up the next morning creating a web of deceit as Hannah and especially Jack try to sweep the incident under the rug. What makes things more complicated is that Iris is in love with Jack which the others don't know about but the audience obviously does.
Things seem to be heading in a typical love triangle type setup. It has all of the makings of sleeper hit rom-com, but don't be fooled. There is far more going on here than it lets on, and there is a twist towards the end that isn't so much disguised as it is completely concealed. I'm sure I could not have been the only one in the theatre who didn't see it coming and I'm very glad for it. The depth of the characters increased tenfold in a space of about four minutes and took the film down a much more complicated route.
What really separates this from other films of its kind is a superbly crafted script which balances very natural comedy with multi-layered, touching characters. These are executed by fine actors giving three wonderful performances. It is quite a gamble to put so much faith in three people who fill almost the entirety of the movie, but director Lynn Shelton has chosen solid vehicles for her vision and her risk paid off. There is a particularly beautiful scene where the two sisters wind up in bed together talking about Jack. DeWitt's eyes speak volumes when she learns that Iris loves him. It's a stunning bit of understated acting from the both of them.
Many will be turned off by the ending. I know I was. It is a bit ambiguous, but I reconciled this by saying to myself that if we place faith in the classic definition of a "comedy" then we must know how the characters have their stories resolved. There is one major question which is impossible to know and that would be a movie in itself, but as far as the relationships are concerned in the short run everything should go according to formula. That's not a bad thing. In fact, it makes me feel happier having a resolution in my mind.
3.5/4
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